You had me at Cupcake
by lezbhonest17
Summary: Laura is startled as she is yanked into a janitor's closet on her second day of kindergarten. They develop a lovely friendship after that. In between Carmilla's abusive mother, Laura's paranoid dad, and their dorky adventures; can Laura and Carm manage to navigate their feelings for one another?
1. Chapter 1

It all started the second day of kindergarten. I was skipping to school, my (amazing) _Doctor Who_ backpack bouncing happily between my shoulders. I was convinced that my second day of school would be better than my first, or at least I was hoping it would be. I frowned slightly at the memory of yesterday when this mean boy, Will, stole my cookies. I will NOT suffer through the agony of losing my beloved sugary treats again, today I have a plan if worse comes to worse: shin kicking.

I finally reached my school; Silas Elementary. I turned around and waved at my dad across the street (we live very close to my school). Yesterday, I asked my dad why we had to live so close and he started going on about how if something happened at school, he would be able to protect me. I asked what could possibly happen and he started ranting about the dangers of bears(?), angry mobs, and boys with motorcycles (where is he getting this stuff?). Talking about all those things got daddy so worked up that he also enrolled me in krav maga classes, whatever the heck those are. Shaking my head at my ever-rambling thoughts, I turned back to my school and began walking towards my classroom.

I managed to make it halfway to my class before a pair of small hands popped out from an unmarked door and pulled me through it. The door closed behind me, and I wait for my eyes to adjust. Eventually my eyes manage to discern beautiful chocolate colored eyes, framed by an ivory face and curly ebony hair. The mystery girl put one finger to her lips, signaling I needed to be silent. I quietly looked around and saw: a mop, a broom, a big yellow bucket on wheels, and a copious amount of cleaning supplies. Apparently my strange new acquaintance managed to find the janitor's closet. I was about to tell this girl why it was dangerous for a janitor to leave a closet filled with, essentially, poison, when I heard voices outside. "Where is that little twerp?" said boy number one.

"I don't know Will," the girl and I both bristle at boy number one's name, "I swear I saw her. Maybe we should just forget about your annoying sister and go after that girl with the cookies, those were great." Said boy number two. I was seriously considering kicking that cookie thief in the shins if he kept talking.

The girl across from me frowned when she saw the look in my face. "You are cookie girl?" she mouthed silently at me. I nodded my confirmation and then we continued listening to the other side of the door.

"Ah, whatever. We'll find them during recess." Muttered Will. A few seconds later the only thing we could hear on the other side of the door was the sound of retreating footsteps.

The girl across from me sighed deeply in relief and held out her hand, "Carmilla Kirstein, nice to make your acquaintance."

I stare at her a second before grasping her hand with my own and shaking it, "Laura Hollis. Pleased to meet you. How long have you been in this janitor's closet? Also how did you get in? Because if it was just left unlocked, then the janitor should get in trouble for being negligent; a lot of things in here are poisonous. Also, was that guy your brother? If so, I'm sorry. You must never get any cookies because he steals them all. I have some here." I reached into my backpack and pulled out my Tardis lunchbox, opened it, and retrieved a small bag of cookies. I divided them evenly, and then gave Carmilla half.

She stared at me with her mouth slightly open, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "Well cupcake, that was the longest and most adorable rant I have ever seen. To answer your questions: I stole the janitor's keys, I have been in here since I got to school this morning, and yes that weasel is my brother. I saw William take your cookies yesterday and didn't want a repeat of that, so I grabbed you when you were walking by and hid you in here with me." She smiled triumphantly after answering my questions successfully, "Oh, and thanks for the cookie." she said while nibbling on the edge of it.

I shyly smile back at her and begin to eat my own cookie. The bell rings off in the distance and I jump up and start shoving things into my bag, "Ohmygosh Cram we're going to be late for class! Shoot, did I have Miss Turner, or Miss Annette? This is a disaster!" I turned to face the startled brunette, "It was great to meet you, I'll find you at recess and we can continue our conversation." I grabbed her into a quick hug and then jerked the door open and bolted outside, calling behind me; "See ya later Carm!"

"Later creampuff!" could be heard faintly behind me. I smiled at the thought of my new friend; she was pretty cool, even if she did like calling me the names of sugary awesomeness.


	2. Shin-Kicking Ninja

"Carmilla! Get down here this instant, or you will have hell to pay!"

"Yes mother." Carmilla said as she raced down the stairs.

"What on Earth are you wearing?" snarled my mother as I came into view. I look down at my black converse, blood red t-shirt, black ripped jeans, and black leather jacket; and shrugged. I liked it, I thought I was pretty good at matching for a six year old. Mother, however, was not impressed with my attempt to dress myself, "Go change this instant."

I pouted, "But mother I like-" my protest was cut off by the sharp sound of my Mother's hand colliding with my face. I started to squeak in pain, but quickly cut it off; that just makes her anger worse. I wordlessly trudged up the stairs to change, my cheek stinging the whole way up.

That is how I ended up here; walking to school, William (unfortunately) by my side. I was miserable, not only was I wearing a hideous shirt the color of sticky cotton candy, I was also enduring my brother's never-ending taunts and teases. I tuned him out after he started calling me a "snot nosed midget", if he actually had some wit, he might be able to come up with insults that border on clever, instead of the sub-par garbage that my ears were currently being barraged with. I sighed and blew my bangs out of my face as I let my thoughts wonder.

The first day of kindergarten was, surprisingly, not as bad as I thought it would be. Though, mother already began our education at a very young age, so I already knew how to read and do basic math. The other students seemed to be very far behind in their education, some of them could barely say the alphabet. The fact that I was so far ahead of the other kids made it difficult for me to acquire any new friends, so I was marching onto the school grounds without a single ally by my side.

William tore through my train of thought when he started talking about taking some girl's cookies. Yesterday, I had witnessed my older brother (by one year, mind you) take the most adorkable little girl's cookies from her blue lunchbox in the shape of a phone booth. I was so disgusted that he wanted to risk traumatizing this girl further by stealing from her again that (against my better judgment) I turned to him and called him a lout (don't ask me what that is, it just sounded good at the time), and then proceeded to run away.

My brother stood there for a couple seconds, his brown eyes slotted as he tried to determine if what I called him was an insult or not. By the time he finally decided I was slighting him, I had already ran through the gates leading to the schoolyard and stolen the janitor's keys. I sprinted to the janitor's closet, by this time I was far out of Will's sight, and locked myself inside.

I managed to peak out a crack I made in the door and spotted that cookie girl from yesterday. Before I even thought about what I was doing, I opened the door wider and grabbed the girl, yanking her inside the closet with me.

(000)

"Later creampuff!" I call after Laura as she frantically ran in the wrong direction (the kindergarten classrooms were the other way). I smile at the dorky girl's antics as I begin walking to my class, and think to myself; _Perhaps, I do have an ally at this godforsaken school after all_. 

Class was ridiculously (almost painfully) boring. I was ecstatic when it was finally time for recess. I wondered around the playground aimlessly until I caught a flash of dirty blonde hair blur past me, followed by the ebony hair that mirrored my own. "Jessie get her!" William screamed at his friend as he chased Laura.

Jessie was jumping up and down on one foot while simultaneously clutching the other, "I can't, that midget nailed me in the shins!"

 _Well now I know where my brother got his oh so expansive vocabulary, and creative insults_ , I thought to myself. Some people don't read as much as I do, this is evident when observing someone's vocabulary; William and his friend Jessie are proof of that. I rolled my eyes at my brother's idiocy and started chasing after Laura.

"Hiya Carm," Laura panted as I caught up to her. I looked back and saw my brother and his idiot friend had already picked a different target to shamelessly harass.

"Hey creampuff. I see you had an eventful recess so far." I said with a lazy smile.

Laura beamed at me before her face morphed into a worried frown, "I just realized I kicked your brother's friend in the shins! I told myself this morning, before I met you of course, that I would resort to shin kicking today if those mean boys picked on me again, and then I met you, I didn't think about how you would feel if I hurt your brother and his friends. Carmilla I am so sorr-"

I cut off Laura's (extreme run-on sentence); "It's fine cupcake. Really, in fact I think you should kick them in the shins whenever you have the need."

Warm brown eyes scanned my face for any signs of insincerity, she didn't seem to find any hint of it because she nodded once and then grabbed my hand. I started at the sudden contact; I'm not used to anyone touching me for any reason outside of hitting me. She studied my face for a couple of seconds before she began pulling me towards the swing set, the whole time babbling about bear spray and krav maga (I think?). I couldn't help but smile at this sweet, yet feisty, girl. And, just like that, I had made a new friend; the kind that lasts a lifetime.


	3. Cookie Corpses and Spaghetti Smoothies

"Carmmmm," I whined at my best friend, "I don't understand any of this!" I flipped through my book, frustration written all over my face.

"What's not to understand creampuff?" Carmilla questioned while peeking over my shoulder. "Add butter mixture to dry ingredients, mix thoroughly until smooth-"

"I can read it Carm, that's not the problem," I turned to face her, "I think we should give up on our quest to make me cook." Carmilla looked like she was going to protest so I talked faster to prevent her response; "We have burnt six batches of cookies," I glare pointedly at the evidence (still smoking) on the countertop, "and I even managed to set fire to the pudding we attempted to make." I gestured animatedly at the pot soaking in soapy water as an attempt to get the charcoaled pudding off of it.

Carmilla cracked a small smile before lightly gripping my arms and turning me back towards our latest attempt at cookie dough. "You got this Laura."

I sighed and then started adding the ingredients listed on the recipe to the bowl. The whole time Carmilla is talking me through the steps of cookie dough making. It's the random moment like these; the one that are so simple, comfortable, yet still amazing; that I love to share with Carm. These are the times that I am so grateful for my sarcastic, dorky, bookworm.

"You alright there cupcake?" Carmilla said, staring at me expectantly.

I realized I had stopped making cookie dough and was just staring at my best friend with a goody smile on my face. Before I thought about it, I blurted; "I'm so glad you pulled me into that janitor's closet on the second day of kindergarten."

She quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at me, her chocolate eyes searching my own, before she whispered; "What do you mean creampuff!"

I turned to face her and grabbed her hands; "I mean that you are the best person I know. That I love everything about you, from your wicked sarcasm to your smile. I mean," I looked directly into her eyes, "that I am so glad we became friends, because I don't know how I could have gotten even this far in life without you."

Her lips parted in a silent gasp at my words, while tears started to form in her eyes; "I- I don't know how to say how much that means to me, how much you mean to me." She pauses, then abruptly said; "Laura, there's something I need to tell you, it's about my mother-"

"Wow! What the heck happened in here? And why does it smell distinctly like you burnt down half the kitchen?" papa Hollis questioned as he strode into the kitchen. When he noticed all the burnt cookie corpses his eyes widened marginally and then he started to laugh.

Carm and I shared a confused look as we listened to my dad cackle hysterically. Carmilla stood up a little straighter and adjusted her leather jacket before speaking; "Mr. Hollis, I was just trying to teach Laura to cook. We're sorry about the mess, I promise we will clean it up before I leave."

"It's fine Carmilla, I actually admire you for attempting such a huge feat with my daughter. I don't know how, but when I tried to teach that girl to cook pasta, she managed to set the boiling water on fire." Dad let out a hardy laugh before dismissing himself and heading to his room to change into more comfortable clothes.

I stared at the floor, my cheeks flaming with embarrassment from my father's words, "I don't get what I do wrong." I murmur quietly.

Carmilla's light chuckles died down when she saw my reaction; "Laura, it's really not a big deal; that's how people learn. You know, one time, I made spaghetti, and I wanted to be able to eat it on the go. So, me being my brilliant self, I decided it would be a great idea to blend my pasta."

I laugh, "No way?! You made a spaghetti smoothie! I made a green bean smoothie one time." Carm gave me an incredulous look, while I shrugged slightly embarrassed, "I thought it might go down easier," I have not grown out of my hatred for vegetables, and am always trying to find ways to make them palatable. "it didn't." My face scrunched up at the thought of that disgusting goop.

She laughs, then looks at me sheepishly, "We all do things wrong at some point, you just happen to burn things, and someday you won't; and that's all I want to help you achieve."

I scooped her up in a big hug, buried my head in her shoulder, and we just stood there; holding each other. "I love you." I whispered to her.

She tensed slightly before she pulled me even tighter, "I love you too cupcake." We pulled apart and just smiled at each other.

"What are you two smiling about?" papa Hollis said as he came into the kitchen, now dressed in a pair of sweats and an Old Navy t-shirt.

"Umm we were thinking of asking you if Carm could stay the night." I said.

"Ohhh, is that so?"

"If that is alright with you sir." Replied Carmilla (ever-polite to my father).

"I've told you, please, call me papa Hollis. And, of course you can stay the night." I cheer and do a victory dance around the kitchen. I stop when I notice everyone else is staring at me like I'm a lunatic and smile sheepishly. "I'll order some pizza for dinner," I opened my mouth to speak, but dad kept talking; "yes, Laura, I will get the cookie pizza."

Carmilla laughed at that. Personally, I don't see what is so funny, my love of cookies is very serious business, but I can't help but smile at her.

After dad left I remembered Carm wanted to tell me something before dad interrupted (the first time). "Hey, maybe after we clean all of this up, and eat dinner, you could finish telling me what you wanted to tell me earlier."

The brunette looked surprised that I remembered, but responded with a; "Sure, that sounds good cupcake."


	4. Confessions

I loved staying at Laura's house. Not only because it was a way for me to escape the torment at home, but also because of Mr. Hollis' rants about bears and safety, and of course I love spending time with Laura. Even after four years, I still feel like I can never get enough of that girl. We don't even need to do things together, we're just content to be near each other. I can't tell you how many days were spent with me either reading or drawing, while Laura watched _Doctor Who_ or wrote random stories. I loved every second of it. It's like Laura lights up my life. No, not lights up; more like she brings out the light in me. The light that is usually buried deep within me for the sake of my sanity. It's almost like she can just smile at me and I glow; I find my passion, my sincerity, my vulnerability. It's because of all the feelings she inspired in me that led me to tell Laura about my mother.

I know if I were to say anything to anybody, mother would make my life ten times worse; she would make death seem like a kind friend compared to what she would do to me. I know all of this, and yet, I don't think I can keep this from Laura anymore. That's how I ended up sitting on her Tardis-covered bedsheets trying to work up the courage to tell Laura about the secret I have been keeping from her for four years.

"Carm, if you're not ready to talk about it, you don't have to." She said lowly to me.

I shake my head, grasping for the right words; "No, I want to, I'm ready. I just don't know where to start."

Laura nodded her head solemnly, "Start with what you want to say the most."

That actually kind of made sense. Taking a deep breath, I began; "I hate going home." I looked away from Laura's concerned eyes; I couldn't look at her right then, not when I was that weak. "Mother is cruel." I shifted uncomfortably then continued; "It started with her demeaning William and me. Harsh words that would send you spiraling into the darkest depths of your mind. It didn't stop there though. From there, she began to hit; with her fists, with her feet, with that vase, anything she could get her hands on, though she was careful about where she hit. She would make sure not to leave marks where anybody could see." My voice broke as I tried to continue, "She put bruises it where nobody would notice. She told us that even if people knew, they wouldn't care. She broke us over and over again. She twisted William into the monster he is now, but I won't, I can't let her do the same to me." A hand slid across the bed and attached itself to my own. I finally looked up, into Laura's eyes. I was both shocked and relieved to see there was not a trace of pity. "What are you thinking?" I whispered.

She whispered back, "I noticed Carm." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "I see how you flinch away from anyone's touch when you aren't paying attention. I see the bruises when you stretch and your shirt rides up. I see how you won't let anybody through the impenetrable walls you built to protect yourself. I see how you visibly shrink around your mother. I see the sorrow and rage in your eyes when Will is cruel to others. I see it, and I can tell you one thing," she looked deeply into my eyes and I shrunk back slightly at her gaze, "that you mother is wrong, there are people who care, I care. And I think that when she breaks you down, you come back stronger than before, because that is who you are."

Tears gathered in my eyes as I heard what she said to me. I had been holding this in so long, carrying this burden alone, convinced that there was nothing I could do to make the pain go away. But here Laura was, brown eyes fixed on my own, her dirty blonde hair faintly reflecting the lamp-light, telling me I wasn't weak, that I mattered. The walls keeping me safe crumbled as I regarded the girl before me, and suddenly I was sobbing. Strong arms wrapped themselves around me and held me close. We sat there for hours, Laura keeping my shattered pieces together, until I drifted off into the soundest sleep I have ever experienced.


	5. Cake and Constellations

Hey guys, I'm kind of jumping around time-wise, so bear with me. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment any thoughts. :)

I crouched behind the grey couch in my living room. I looked to my dad across from me and we shared a silent exchange of smiles. Carmilla should be here any second. The sound of muffled footsteps alerted us of her presence outside. Carm knocks quickly before opening up the door and yelling, "Hey cupcake, this new _Doctor Who_ episode better be amazing because I was in the middle of the most amazing book-"

"Surprise!" my dad, Carmilla's brother Will, her older sister Mattie, and I all screamed at her while jumping out of the dark with huge grins on our faces.

The brunette regarded us with wide eyes before the biggest smile I have ever seen spread across her face. "What are you guys doing here? Mattie, when did you get back?" she ran up to her older sister and gave her a bear hug.

"Your little friend convinced me to take some time off of work and come back home for your eleventh birthday." Mattie said with a slight smile tugging at her lips.

Carm pulled away from her sister and looked at me; a shocked look plastered on her face. "You did all this," she gestured wildly to the Edgar Allen Poe decorations lining the living room. (She was very interested in the poet at the time. it took a lot of time, and help from my dad, to find out where to get said decorations, and to know who the heck that dude was).

I smiled shyly at her, "Of course I did! The eleventh birthday is the most important! Or was that the sixteenth? Anyway, I know your mom doesn't celebrate your birthday, so if I didn't so it nobody else would. So I looked up pictures of your Poe poet, hehe see what I did there, and apparently he had a thing about ravens or something. And then I called your sister, I got her number from your brother, and talked her into coming down, and here we all are. Whew!" I took a deep breath and smiled at her.

"Don't hurt yourself cupcake, you can stop to breath." she said with a slight laugh.

"If it is too much just tell me, I can take it down." I stated nervously.

"It- it's perfect." she whispered as she walked over to me and enveloped me into a hug. "I love it so much, thank you Laura." She pulled away from me and faced everyone else, "Thank you all, this is the most wonderful birthday I have ever had."

"You're welcome kitty." Will said with a small smirk. I guess he's not as terrible as I thought, he was at least nice enough to help me get Mattie to come down to celebrate her sister's birthday.

Carmilla just smiled and then gave everyone hugs and talking animatedly about that Poe guy. Every once in a while, her eyes would meet mine and she would smile at me. I just stood there looking at the most wonderful girl in the world, thinking about how wonderful life is with her in it.

"Whatchu thinkin about kiddo?" my dad questioned as he sidled up next to me.

"Just… that I really like seeing her like this; all happy. She's so sad all the time; doesn't let the fire in her eyes burn as brightly when she's around other people. You know?"

"I do see what you mean." He said softly, before walking away; lost in thought.

"Hey creampuff." Carmilla murmured as she appeared by my side. "I wanted to thank you for all this, especially getting Mattie to come down. I haven't seen her in six years, since she left for Chicago and never looked back. I missed her so much, and calling just isn't the same as seeing her, you know?"

"It was an honor to help you celebrate your birthday Carm, but it's not quite over yet." I said as my dad came out of the kitchen with an all-black cake with "HAPPY ELEVENTH CARMILLA!" scrawled across it in silvery frosting. "Don't worry, I didn't make it; dad bought it at the store." I joked.

She rolled her eyes and mumbled something about "liking it no matter what" under her breath. A chorus of voices started to sing Happy Birthday. When the song was concluded, she closed her eyes and blew out the candles, while everyone cheered.

(000)

After everyone left, the birthday girl and I were laying on the floor in my room; "Happy birthday Cam." I said to her as I pulled her gift out from under my bed. She quirked an inquisitive brow, but silently opened it. Tearing away the wrapping paper, she revealed a thick volume on astronomy; mainly the constellations. "Since you always like to look at the stars at night and whatnot, I thought you might like to know about all the different constellations and the stories behind the-"

My explanation was I interrupted when Carmilla tackled me with a hug; "I absolutely love it." She whispered softly in my ear.

Later that night, we sat up on the roof gazing at the stars, Carm narrating the individual stories for each constellation. I look over at my friend and think _there's no place I'd rather be_.


End file.
